Question Less/Comment More

06/20/2017

Language strategy of the day: Question less and comment more!

Parents love to ask kids questions. We love to see what our kids know, and we love to hear them talk. This is especially true of kids with delayed language development, as parents may be even more eager to hear those words AND may have even more reason to celebrate when they hear them. So it's natural to fall into the habit of asking those quizzing questions, such as "is that a dog?" or "what colour is your sock?" or "what does a duck say?" Notice that the answers to these questions are almost always (1) yes/no or (2) a one-word, known/expected answer.

But let me tell you something: kids will actually say a whole heck of a lot more than a single word at a time if we ask fewer questions and just talk to them about what's going on. If we COMMENT instead of QUESTION, kids will:

  • hear richer, more diverse language input from us (a rich variety of vocabulary, grammatical words, and concepts)
  • feel free to share their ideas and be creative (including taking risks and trying new words and phrases)
  • have an opportunity to contribute to the topic or change the topic

So, although it may be counter-intuitive, asking questions (especially those closed or yes/no questions) can actually shut the door on a lot of language we might otherwise be able to encourage. I would also argue it contributes to a pressure to perform that, in itself, can be unhelpful or inhibit a child's expression. So try out making statements, comments, or even just talking about what's going on instead. You might be surprised what your child will say in response!

If you'd like to read more about this, I wrote about this strategy last year on my (very neglected) blog "Unconditional Therapy": https://unconditionaltherapy.wordpress.com/2016/06/17/question-less-and-comment-more/

Say It SLP Services © Jana O'Connor, RSLP — All rights reserved 2022
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